Apple Releases iPad Mini, Facebook Squeaks By

Today's financial recap and tomorrow's financial outlook.

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MINYANVILLE ORIGINAL Pre-market, futures indicated that equities would open lower by about 1%. Weakness continued throughout the morning as the market opened for trading, dipping to as low as -2% on the day. Weakness persisted throughout the day across all sectors, including commodities, equities, and fixed income.

Treasuries rose throughout the day. The $35 billion two-year auction this afternoon was met with strong demand from direct bidders, or non-primary dealers who were bidding for their own house accounts. This could be signaling that investors are betting on short-term Treasury rates heading towards 0 after the Fed discontinues its sales of short-term Treasuries through Operation Twist.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled a new version of the iPad at its press event in California today. The new fourth generation product will start at $599 for 16 GB of storage. Apple also announced the release of the long-awaited iPad Mini, starting at $329. Despite all of the new releases, the stock fell more than 3% after the release.

Earnings reports prior to the open were particularly dire. Chemical company DuPont (NYSE:DD) missed earnings to the downside and guided full-year earnings lower by more than 25%. The stock fell more than 10% on the day. After the close, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) reported earnings for the second time since becoming a public company. The company beat earnings and revenues slightly and didn't have any major negative news to report. Due to the negativity before the report, the stock rose over 10% in post-market trading.

Tomorrow's Financial Outlook

The US will release new home sales in the morning. Last week, construction and home sales data showed a sharp rise. For new home sales, economists are expecting a rise to 385K. In Europe, the eurozone will report euro-area manufacturing data and the German IFO Institute will report business confidence.

Last month's FOMC meeting was highly anticipated, as it was expected that the Fed would initiate a new round of asset purchases. Tomorrow's monthly meeting of the Federal Reserve is not as highly anticipated, but it is likely that the committee will discuss new economic targets and the potential for asset purchases under Operation Twist to be converted into outright balance sheet expansion once they end at the end of the year.

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